Top positive review

5.0 out of 5 starsThis is the one - this is THE book you cannot put down

August 19, 2018

This is one of the most moving, caring, emotional novels I have ever read. I read this book only because I had met Delia and have read her wildlife books she wrote with husband Mark Owens. After starting the book this was all I could think about for days. Kya's life become part of mine and the characters ceased to live on the page... they were alive with me and I was in the marsh, feeling every feather - the air, creatures and the plants. Jumpin' became a trusted friend and so many moments touched my very soul. I should not have been surprised as Delia has a great style in her wildlife books that I love to read. But a novel like this is not my normal read. Maybe I need to now reconsider what I choose as this book stopped me cold and made me rethink a lot that happened in my life. Delia touched the human soul with her behavioral descriptions. She is not only a respected wildlife scientist, she is a human behaviorist and understands more about the human condition that just about anyone else I know. This is a tremendous treasure of a book and I'm sure it's staying in my read again list for a long time. Highly recommend the book.

Top critical review

I was very disappointed in this book after reading all the hype about it. While the reading is good, the story is so nonsensical- a 6 year old left alone in a shack raises herself, living in the same shack, using the same boat, and no one lifts a hand to help her? In more than 20 years, the boat never breaks down, the house doesn't need repairs and she's able to wear the same clothes for many years....she's got long hair that she says is ratty and tangled but description s of it has it down her back, luxurious...she's gorgeous but bathing is optional until in her 20s...she has sex with a philanderer but never gets a vd and not once apparently does she get sick. No flu, cold, nothing....she never got shots and apparently has the immune system of a super hero because she stepped on a nail and never got tetanus....I kept reading so I'd finish and the ending is unexpected but it's generally a boring book where day after day, she's alone in the marsh....

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This is one of the most moving, caring, emotional novels I have ever read. I read this book only because I had met Delia and have read her wildlife books she wrote with husband Mark Owens. After starting the book this was all I could think about for days. Kya's life become part of mine and the characters ceased to live on the page... they were alive with me and I was in the marsh, feeling every feather - the air, creatures and the plants. Jumpin' became a trusted friend and so many moments touched my very soul. I should not have been surprised as Delia has a great style in her wildlife books that I love to read. But a novel like this is not my normal read. Maybe I need to now reconsider what I choose as this book stopped me cold and made me rethink a lot that happened in my life. Delia touched the human soul with her behavioral descriptions. She is not only a respected wildlife scientist, she is a human behaviorist and understands more about the human condition that just about anyone else I know. This is a tremendous treasure of a book and I'm sure it's staying in my read again list for a long time. Highly recommend the book.

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I am extremely stingy with my compliments for good books, but this tale is well-deserving of the praise. Of the last dozen or so books I've read, only two others earned five complete stars by me: She Read to Us in the Late Afternoons: A Life in Novels by Kathleen Hill, and Circe by Madeline Miller.

I have to confess that I have also had magical moments with marsh creatures such as herons, eagles, and mud turtles. Like the main character, Kya, I am a compulsive collector of treasures from those Great Rock Tumblers: the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean which makes this book so attractive to me. However, Delia Owens' writing is more than just about the natural world. She spins a good and very well-written tale about murder, courtroom drama, nature, poetry, and even love.

Another reviewer described Owens' writing as lyrical. It is. Take your time and savor every sentence.

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Wow! I just finished reading Where the Crawdads Sing. And I will say it again, Wow! This books is so filled with emotion. Kya, the main character, is trying to survive by herself from a young age. She has been abandoned by those who should teach her, guide her, protect her. She has to fend for herself. Two men come into her life and teach her about the good and bad in life. I only keep few book's that I know I will read again. This is staying in my library.

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My favorite book of the year by far. So beautifully written. No skimming over sections in this book. I devoured every single word. I laughed, I cried (a lot) and most importantly thought differently about life - mine and everyone else's. I became the character of Kya, desperately alone and forced to try to eke out an existence on her own in the marshes. The marshes are their own separate character, but despite the fact that I am freaked out by insects and mud and most other creepy crawlies, I could actually imagine myself enjoying the Carolina experience, hard as it was. You will root for Kya, I did, sometimes shouting out loud- You Go Girl!!!!! I read this book in one day and can't stop thinking about it. There are several clues to the surprise ending if you pay attention to the details. This is a KEEPER!

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Started reading it 10am and finished 8pm! Could not put it down. Main characters are easy to get to know (so you think) and the story draws you in from the start! I look forward to more from this author!! Read this Book!

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I read a lot. Sometimes folks refer a title to me ... sometimes I don't ALWAYS 'adjust' to the referring individuals taste. My niece recommended this title and said, "It's not so much the story line ... even though that's VERY good ... but, the WRITING style. After the first pages, I was HOOKED. Love Ms. Owen's style. Descriptive, picturesque speech.

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Let me start by saying that this is the first review I have ever given. I am a voracious reader and have over 5,000 books in my library. I read fiction, non fiction, political, bios, horror, true crime, and everything in between. I saw this book recommended on some magazine publication review, do not remember which one. The plot sounded like something I might be interested in with intrigue, mystery, murder, and love. I will admit that the narration of nature in the swamp and marsh does get a little redundant but if you get past that you will find a book with a narrative hard to put down. You will feel compassion for the main character like you may have never felt before. This book brought me to tears at the end. I recommended it as a "must read" . I don't think you will walk away not remembering KYA for a long time.

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First of all, I'll tell you what I loved about the book. I loved the writing--the way the author put words together creating a beautiful scene. She is very talented and has a wonderful, lilting, poetic, picturesque way about her prose. I enjoyed it. I also liked her main story idea of this young girl being abandoned out in the marsh, but learns to survive on her own. I believe someone like her could be a 'scientist' of sorts. I imagine someone like her could find and accurately categorize the wildlife, flora, and fauna of the place that is her whole world. But, her rise in the 'academic world' just wasn't believable. Very intriguing idea, but not convincing. Maybe I'm just a little too much of a realist to completely lose myself in that aspect of the story. Perhaps if the author would have described some 'hardships' other than extreme loneliness (and at first hunger). Everything on the marsh was just so romantic and beautiful. What about the reality of living on the marsh? The bugs in the food, the idea of using the woods for nature calls esp. during that time of the month, or when you've got food poisoning from no refrigeration, or catch a cold, or suffer from numerous insect bites making your skin look terrible from excessive scratching, or what happens if you cut yourself, break a bone or need antibiotics? What person escapes childhood (even with lots of adults around) without any sickness or injury requiring adult intervention? Everything was just too beautiful--almost Disney-fied. Nothing (but humans) can hurt you in the marsh...yeah right. And the fact that she was just so beautiful and irresistible was also just a bit unbelievable. We're talking about someone who isn't going to have the best hygiene, wouldn't have shaved her legs or armpits, no visits to the dentist, no floss, etc. etc. Her hair was long, beautiful, flowing...all the time without any products or seeing a professional. Marsh life would be tough on hair I would imagine. Yeah, all right, you could say all these miraculous beauty secrets COULD happen with some kind of natural remedies, but I have big doubts. I'm just saying some of the 'she is like a beautiful fairy with flowers intertwined in her luscious hair; her clear, unbitten, unblemished, flawless skin, and a perfect figure'...bothered me. Yes, she could be naturally beautiful, but what about every day hardships? Maybe throw in a few realistic aspects of living in the wild. Just watching Survivor would show you how people really look after time in the wild. Some of it ain't pretty. So, the Marsh girl is beautiful and smarter than anyone could imagine...almost everyone misjudges her. That whole theme went a little overboard in my opinion. And the conversations that she had with her love interests...unbelievably boring. I kept listening for some sign that there was all that intellect hidden under that Disney princess hair, but if you judge her on her dialogue alone? Yawn. Also, when the author has the main character reading poetry...I always picture the writer thinking, "filler...I need filler..." A little bit is fine, but too much becomes distracting IMO. Overall, despite my somewhat critical review, I enjoyed this book enough to give it four stars. I just thought a little too much suspension of belief distracted me from the story. Others may not find the Gorgeous-Nymph-in-a-boat in a magical marsh where she's friends with all creatures-fairytale as unbelievable or irritating as I did. But, still it was an entertaining read and that is usually what I judge books on. All in all, the author has a beautiful way with words and I would recommend this book.

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I loved this book from the very first sentence to the very last sentence.

The prologue begins in 1969 in the Marsh. From the first few sentences describing it “Marsh is a space of light, where grass grows in water, and water flows into the sky” you are pulled into the wonderful descriptive writing. But then we soon learn that we are being introduced to the Marsh through the discovery of a body, that of Chase Andrews.

Then we are taken back to 1952. Kya, six years old, watches her ma walking away from the house. She is wearing her fake alligator skin high heels and carrying a blue train case. Ma always turned around to wave when she reached the road, but this time she didn’t. That was the last time Kya saw her mother.

As her brothers and sisters leave one by one, Kya is left to fend for herself. Sometimes her pa is around and sometimes he isn’t. Kya learns to survive in the marsh.

I can’t even begin to describe the life Kya leads, without giving anything away. I don’t want there to be any spoilers because it unfolds so beautifully in the book.

The story is everything, heartbreaking, heartwarming, lyrical, moving, tragic and uplifting. I fell in love with Kya, her strength, her simple goodness.

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Kya, abandoned, grows up alone in a shack in the coastal marsh of North Carolina. This is her story, one of love and mystery.Her marsh is located an hour and a half from Greenville. Yet when "Pa," drunk and carless, needs to seek advice from veterans affairs, he goes not to nearby Fayetteville, but to Asheville, some 350 miles away near the Tennessee border . Later, when a shopkeeper leaves town to stock up on supplies, he goes not to nearby Wilmington, or New Bern, or even Raleigh, but apparently makes a 700-mile round trip again to Asheville. Many read this manuscript, including an editor, and yet no one seems to have consulted a map of NC. This bizarre geographical ignorance mars an otherwise nicely written account of Kya's struggle with loneliness, isolation, and love. Still, a four-star, and overall a nice easy read.